Hi guys, almost ready to take the plunge now, just one question - is it worth purchasing a decent Hacktop (probably a hackbook pro) for the course or would it be easier to use a virtual machine on my desktop? The spec isn't bad, its an intel quad with 4gb ram.

dont worry about your rig, its fine...just make sure you have a stable internet connection with a decent download and upload speed. There is nothing more frustrating than losing your connection during a special custom crafted exploit and find your connection failing just when you executed it...

CISSP, CEH, ECSA, OSCP, OSWP, eCPPT, eWAPT

earning my stripes appears to be a road i must travel alone...with a little help of EH.net